WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8
Molly and Stella (UTM Drama Club)
Rating: VV
Molly, a naive university student who moves into a new apartment in Toronto, struggles to befriend her neighbour Stella, a morose, thirty-something head case, who after six years of grief still can’t figure out why her husband never returned from his “business trip” to Chicago.
Missed moments and page upon page of throwaway dialogue easily overpower the few jokes and insights Molly and Stella actually has to offer. Lost somewhere between a comedy of attracting opposites, and a commentary on the isolation of urban living, Stella waxes philosophic about all the usual questions of identity that every 14-year-old wrestles with on the first day of high school.
It’s unclear what Molly actually does to make Stella change after six years of burying her head in the sand. To suggest that it’s just because “someone finally cares about her” is overplayed and simply not interesting enough.
It’s telling that the best scene in the play (the two watching the movie A Streetcar Named Desire) is totally devoid of any deeper substance, and only succeeds based on solid technical aspects.-JB
Uninvited
(St. Michael’s College Drama Society)
Rating: VVv
Uninvited is a play about date rape. Despite its righteous attack on this most despicable of assaults, the strong message is accompanied by an annoyingly heavy-handed dose of the most basic of all sympathy tactics: tears.
There’s nothing clever here, just a boyfriend and girlfriend being interrogated in separate locations (girlfriend, hospital; boyfriend, jail). It’s like someone tried to adapt Play by Samuel Beckett for The O.C., but was rejected for being too predictable and overwrought.
Despite the vile, Kobe-esque actions of his character, Ryan-James Hatanaka (Alex) actually turns in a great performance. He is somehow able to sell lines that would sound ridiculously cheesy coming from anyone else (his only miss being the line, “Rohypnol? The date rape drug?” which is delivered like a narc asking for “reefer”).
As the violated girlfriend, Allison Christina Kerr (Juliana) shows some talent, but ends up stuck like a first violinist who’s only allowed to play one loud, overly emotional note all night long.
To improve, this play needs to attack the important issue of date rape from a new perspective. Everyone’s already seen a million overly expository “why me” confessionals on Dawson’s Creek. It’s time to examine the problem in a new way (like the queer date rape experience, maybe).-JB
Beyond Characteristic (UTSC Drama Society)
Rating: V
Playwright Matt Riley delivers dinner mystery theatre without the dinner (ha!). Unfortunately that’s about as funny as this unpolished sketch of a play actually gets.
The plot, which was probably purchased from a vending machine (the Vend-a-Plot 9000?), involves the death of a cook at the mansion of some well-to-do aristocrat. Here’s the twist: it just so happens that a group of extremely eclectic individuals has assembled there just prior (for whatever reason, it really doesn’t matter) and any one of them could all be the killer, etc. (Just shoot me, please.)
In this monstrosity of a production, only Mike Noorden (The Butler) is able to create a character that doesn’t seem forced to the point of absurdity. Covin Cheng’s semi-awkward portrayal of Beastly is actually awesome, but I’m still not sure why or how. As a whole, the cast seems disorganized, amateurish, and under-rehearsed.
The real mystery here is how something so devoid of anything remarkable could be amongst the best theatre that U of T has to offer. To any aspiring playwrights out there on campus: get writing! Clearly, U of T’s Drama Fest needs you badly!-JB
THURSDAY, Feb. 9
Many Happy Years (Woodsworth College League of Dramatists)
Rating: VV
Woodsworth College’s first entry into the drama festival in recent memory, Many Happy Years tried valiantly to explore the complex topic of war crimes but failed to deliver anything more than an excessively sentimental extended monologue.
With a heavy-handed setup involving a police officer (Corinne Stikeman) interrupting the birthday dinner of septuagenarian Yuri (Christian Morey) to question him about his involvement in the Nazi occupation of Ukraine during World War II, the play is well meaning, but quickly devolves into clichéd speechifying.
Talia Zajac’s script tries hard to be poetic, and does manage to capture some moments of genuine feeling, but it suffers under the weight of its subject matter. Aside from protagonist Yuri, the characters are nothing more than two-dimensional cutouts on stage there solely to push the story along with cringeworthy lines.
Director Tina Benigno has little idea of what to do with her cast onstage-characters wander aimlessly, pacing from one side of the stage to the other for no apparent reason, and costume changes visible to the audience are both awkward and unnecessary.
While Morey carries the play with a largely sympathetic performance, his female castmates are so weak that he may just look better by proxy. Still, he prevents the play from being an instant cure for insomnia, and in a production riddled with amateurish errors, this can only be a good thing.-YS
She Moves Me (Hart House Drama Society)
Rating: VVVv
Set in New Orleans in the 1930s, director Michael Meehan describes She Moves Me as “raw, visceral, and honest as the blues music that inspired it.” While that description may indeed be true, I’m still not entirely sure what the play was actually about.
Sitting by the dock of the Mississippi River, Freddie (Alan F. Campbell) longs to leave town and set sail for new adventures on one of the many boats going by, but his empty pockets keep him tied to the shore. His uncle John (John Paul Antonacci) offers to solve the problem by buying him a one-way ticket to sea, but there’s a catch-Freddie must first ask Lucky Boy, a shady figure with no immediately apparent profession, for a job.
Why does Uncle John want Freddie to ask Lucky Boy for a job? Who, exactly, is this mysterious Lucky Boy, and why doesn’t he have a real name? What’s up with the dude (Josh Wynn) sitting at the edge of the stage, playing blues guitar?
I don’t really know the answers to any of these questions, but what I do know is that Adam Collier’s script is full of clever lines and smartly timed dialogue, and that though his castmates’ Southern accents may be a bit dodgy, J.P. Antonacci is the standout of this cast. With spot-on characterization and physicality, Antonacci’s Uncle John takes the audience back to a bygone age and helps them forget that the plot is confusing as hell. With a performance this good, all other quibbles are easily forgiven.-YS
Play Alive!
(Victoria College Drama Society)
Rating: VVVV
What would you do if one day your life suddenly morphed into one big episode of Survivor…and the grand prize was the chance to evade certain death? This is the question that faces two self-absorbed actors (Chris Lewarne and Ann Pornel) when a plane crash leaves them as the only survivors on a seemingly deserted island in the hilarious Play Alive!
David West Read’s script is a witty, meta-theatrical spoof that rips on everything from based-on-a-true-story movies to improv games, while smartly commenting on the elusive nature of reality.
Director Anne Colangelo deftly guides her strong cast through the production, making the most of Read’s snappy dialogue with clever staging choices and quirky props. Pornel and Lewarne are excellent in the lead roles-their comic timing is impeccable, and both actors manage to walk the tightrope between amusing and outright annoying without falling onto the wrong side.
This is a script that should be submitted to the Fringe circuit ASAP-with a judicious edit and a cast of professionals, Play Alive! would be an instant hit with hip Fringe crowds. West Read is a young playwright with a big future. We’ll likely soon be seeing his work far beyond the campus stage.-YS
FRIDAY, Feb. 10
Pieces (UTM Drama Club)
Rating: VVV
Pieces, an engaging play about quirky characters working at a design firm, centres on Morris (played admirably by Eric Double), an edgy geek whose obsession with his work detracts from his ability to form meaningful relationships. Throughout the play, several of his colleagues attempt to coerce Morris away from his work, but none of these ventures are successful.
Despite a lacklustre set of three tables, the cast brings a sense of vitality to the stage. Their refined portrayals of the bizarre employees working at the firm maintain a steady comedic rhythm. Of particular note are Kevin Dowse as Winter, and Claire Acott as Tina-their lusty stage personalities tackle each other atop a desk in a hilarious love scene midway through the play.
The script (written by Dowse) presents some dramatic moments as well. Unfortunately, many of these bits (often in the form of reflective monologues) interrupt the comedic flow of the piece. Moreover, any amusing undertones are completely undermined at the conclusion of the play, when Morris ignites a bomb, killing all of his colleagues. While there is something enjoyably tragic about the ending, it seems out of place in a performance that, up until the end, seems very much like a quirky sitcom.-AM
Uality (UTSC Drama Society)
Rating: VV (Out of 5)
Uality opens with the character Virginity (Erin Heinze-Kehoe) questioning her role in the over-sexed western world. After preaching the virtues of her lifestyle, Virginity is confronted by the other characters-including Lust (Lourdes Viloria), and Vanity (Aemilia Robinson). Following this introduction, the characters continue to explore the play’s central theme-sexuality-through a series of spoken-word monologues, dance, and movement.
The cast’s multi-disciplinary approach offers a welcome liveliness. However, said approach also encourages unevenness: it is obvious the performers are more skilled working as monologists than they are as dancers. Their first dance piece is markedly weak, as they move in rigid formations around the stage for far longer than necessary. Luckily, wonderful costuming gives the audience something interesting to watch during such lulls in the show.
Aemilia Robinson’s spoken-word monologue about vanity stands out: she exhibits an enthusiasm for the text while skillfully using gestures (and an outlandish hair-do) to command the stage. Unfortunately, the mirrors used to accent her piece are covered with so many handprints that they are barely identifiable as reflective.-AM
Take Your Kid to Work (Trinity College Drama Society)
Rating: VVVV
Adapted from an original script by Devon Reece, Take Your Kid to Work tells the story of Jamie (read by the charming Miranda Plant), a successful businesswoman working in the marketing sector. Hoping to generate new ideas for her job, Jamie kidnaps an aspiring 13-year-old salesgirl from a young entrepreneurs’ conference. What ensues is, unsurprisingly, a hilarious sequence of events.
Even though the performers are merely reading their lines (this performance was a read-through staging of the play), they do so with an enthusiasm for being on the stage. Moreover, the performers work with strong character voices, and add lively gestures so that the reading is not merely a panel of talking heads.
Of particular note are Danielle Westbrook’s reading of Dmitra (a high-energy Pilates enthusiast) and Gabe De Roche as Wayne (Jamie’s flamboyant executive assistant).
While this show is rather simple compared to the other performances, the wonderful script along with the actors’ strong dramatic reading skills makes for quite the enjoyable performance.-AM
SATURDAY, Feb. 11
F-word Uncut (UTSC Drama Society)
Rating: VVV
F-Word Uncut tells the story of Sarah (Angelique Duncan), a young woman struggling to accept something awful she did years ago to Marc (Andy Wong), a boy who had a crush on her in high school. The young man haunts her, ceaselessly visiting and not letting her leave her apartment, while he periodically goes out at night to convince people to kill themselves.
The performance follows the interplay between Marc and Sarah, though whether Marc is real or imagined is unclear. Duncan and Wong are both very competent actors, with Duncan portraying the deadbeat Sarah particularly well. She shows that the young woman is depressed and cynical, but not a bad person.
But ultimately the play does not register sufficiently on an emotional level. Towards the end of the piece, Sarah marries Marc, instead of killing him “like a coward.” And then she runs away from him. The actors and the writing don’t convince us of the emotional significance of either of these events, but take the nonchalance of the characters too far. Nonetheless, F-Word Uncut does not fail to entertain.-WB
Sandra Goodwife’s Big Day
(UTM Drama Club)
Rating: VVVv
Sandra Goodwife (Sonja Seiler) is an eager-to-please young woman who has always worn her cardigan with all the buttons done up, and whose life has mirrored her last name. She is getting ready before the night of an important date with a man she really likes. The play shows her addressing, in her imagination, all the men from her previous romantic encounters, all of whom treated her quite poorly. She is reveling in the hope that they will all be jealous of her new boyfriend.
Seiler pulls off a great performance, beginning the show by singing beautifully, and then driving through the rest of the play with tremendous energy. Unfortunately, her portrayal of Sandra is a bit too aggressive-more subtlety is called for in this role. That said, Seiler’s performance is nonetheless very skilful and impressive-she never loses the audience’s interest, judging by their frequent laughter.
Cleanly and cleverly written by Seiler herself, the whole show is a remarkable effort on her part.-WB
